Seated Calf Raise
In SetGrip: Seated Calf Raise (Machine)
- Secondary muscles
- Ankle Stabilizers
- Body part
- Lower Legs
- Position
- Seated
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
Track this exercise in SetGrip — no account needed
The seated calf raise is done at a machine with a pad resting on your lower thighs: you lower your heels below your toes, then push up onto the balls of your feet. It works the calves, with the small muscles around the ankle keeping it steady. Because your knees stay bent, more of the work falls to the soleus, the deeper of the two main calf muscles.
How to do the Seated Calf Raise
- Sit at the machine with the balls of your feet on the footplate and the pad snug on your lower thighs.
- Release the safety stop and let your heels drop below your toes.
- Push through the balls of your feet to raise your heels as high as you can.
- Lower slowly into a full stretch, pause briefly and repeat; set the stop again after the last rep.
Muscles worked
Primary
Calves · Legs
Secondary
- Ankle Stabilizers
Common mistakes
- Bouncing at the bottom — pause in the stretch so your calves start each rep, not a rebound.
- Half reps — go from a full stretch to your highest heel position.
- Rolling onto the outside of the foot — push through your big toe and second toe so the ankle moves straight.
Where it fits in a workout
Do it at the end of a leg session or on its own on a light day.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Logging the Seated Calf Raise in SetGrip
SetGrip logs the Seated Calf Raise as weight and reps; log the plates you load on the machine.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without machine
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
Track the Seated Calf Raise in SetGrip
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. Text: SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.